In need of a rally, Jalen Hurts proves he’s not yet that QB for Eagles

Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts easily could have thrown four interceptions Sunday, not the three that basically cost his team any chance of beating the stumbling, bumbling New York Giants.

Like a lot of young quarterbacks, he tried to make plays that weren’t there against a defense anticipating just that.

The Eagles are a running team. The passing game, for now, is like one of those construction zones blanketing area roads. All you can do is wait for your lane to reopen.

“I just think I should have taken what they gave me at times, it’s as simple as that,” Hurts said. “Even on the long pick where I checked out of it and got to a play, just take what they gave me underneath.”

That’s your Eagles offense. Or, as head coach Nick Sirianni described the success formula, “protect the football, be efficient in the run game and efficient in the play action.”

“We didn’t do two out of the three of them today,” Sirianni said.

There were four Eagles turnovers in all, Giant killer Boston Scott’s fumble in the two-minute offense costly but not the end-all in a 13-7 defeat at MetLife Stadium.

Scott couldn’t stop beating himself up for his “critical mistake.” But his one-yard run in the third quarter finally got the Eagles on the scoreboard. The Eagles ran the ball nine straight plays culminating in Scott’s score. There were 13 runs before an incompletion on the next series.

The Eagles’ offense isn’t designed or equipped to win games when it gets behind by double digits, as it did Sunday, and time is of the essence. That takes an aerial game.

For that, Hurts still hasn’t arrived as a passer. The numbers Sunday would be embarrassing for any quarterback, starting or otherwise. Hurts was 14 of 31 (45.2 percent) for 129 yards, three interceptions and a 17.5 rating. Instead of throwing the ball away with eight seconds left in the first half and the Eagles in easy field goal range, he was intercepted by linebacker Tae Crowder.

While Giants counterpart Daniel Jones did nothing to prove himself worthy of a contract extension, he didn’t turn the ball over.

Which brings us back to Hurts and the split-second decisions he has to make to give the Eagles a chance to win.

First and foremost, why would Hurts trust Jalen Reagor, who was so ordinary as a rookie that the Eagles drafted DeVonta Smith? The answer is because the Giants gave him Reagor in coverage time and again, and Reagor wasn’t able to suddenly start making first-round plays.

Reagor went airborne to get his hands on a decent throw by Hurts at the one-yard line with 15 seconds left. It would have been an exceptional catch but he couldn’t hang on. It wasn’t the low-pressure lob Reagor went up for at the end of the first half. And it wasn’t the third-quarter dart Hurts threw behind Reagor, who was wide open and positioned to convert into a first down.

To give you an idea of how ineffective the Eagles’ pass game is, Sirianni said that Smith approached him on the sideline to request that Hurts throw him the football. Reagor had seven targets in the game, Smith four.

“I love the fact that he wants the ball in crunch time and he wants it on his shoulders when the game is on the line,” Sirianni said of Smith. “That’s what he was telling me. We had to do what we thought was best for that one with the coverages they were playing and we didn’t execute.”

It doesn’t take an investigator to realize that the Giants knew Reagor wasn’t going to beat them, and that Smith might. But the chances of Smith beating exotic coverages won’t improve until Hurts does. Right now, Hurts has no answer other than to tuck the ball and run, which he’s much more comfortable doing.

“Obviously, he didn’t play good enough,” Sirianni said of Hurts. “And we didn’t coach good enough. It’s all of us. I’s never just one guy. When you turn the ball over three times there’s different things that play there. but it’s not a winning performance.”

Hurts is no longer a rookie, making his 16th start Sunday. He’s 6-10, including 5-7 this season. The Eagles obviously are in the playoff hunt as parity oozes through the league.

Until Hurts starts throwing receivers open and beating what the defenses give him, there are going to lose games like this. The Eagles’ defense played well enough to win against a Giants offense so anemic that head coach Joe Judge fired coordinator Jason Garrett. Freddie Kitchens was anything but dazzling in his debut Sunday. Yet the Giants won.

Wins hide a multitude of sins.

“We had so many opportunities in the game to take advantage of,” Hurts said. “When you turn the ball over like that, which we haven’t done – four times – when you turn the ball over like that you don’t deserve to win the game. It’s not on Jalen Reagor. It’s not on anybody else in the game. Put it on me.”

Hurts has made significant strides this season with a new coaching staff and personnel. He needs to take another big step. And with his work ethic, there’s reason to believe he will.